Automatic stencil cutter



P 1958 A. A. BERLINSKY ErAL AUTOMATIC STENCIL CUTTER 11 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed May 17, 1955 IOU- s 1 R e N mini 7 e 50 0 5.05 T n 5 0 .We 0 A @WMf r o 9 umfib m V. neoe ALRLM Mina AGENT Sept. so, 1958 A. A. BERLINSKYETAL Filed May 17, 1955 AUTOMATIC STENCIL CUTTER l1 Sheets-Sheet 2INVENTORS Amhony A. Ber/015k Lesfer F Wilkinson Koberf [(26 Leroy 7.Wood M A TTOENEY M i. m

AGENT p 1953 A. A. BERLINSKY El AL 2,854,117

AUTOMATIC STENCIL CUTTER ll Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed May 1'7, 1955 INVENTORSv! E T N n am an o 6 mx #4 r.m d A k AWm m WE .1 f. OVFV/ v lw ok ZALQAMM p 11958 A. A. BERLINSKY ETAL 2,854,117

AUTOMATIC STENCIL CUTTER Filed May 17 1955 11 Sheets-Sheet 4 FTE: 4

Dl TAPE INVENIORS Ami-hon ABer/msky Leszer Wilkinson fioberz lfee LeroyT. Wood MWATTORNQY AGNT p 3@, 3953 A. A. BERLINSKY ETAL 2,854,117

AUTOMATIC STENCIL CUTTER Filed May 17, 1955 11 Sheets-Sheet 5 9INVENTORS Ami-hon dfiierlmsky Leszer Mlkinson Ruben kee BY Leroy Z Woodm WATTORNEY Miimu AGENT p 1958 A. A. BERLINSKY ET AL 2,854,117

AUTOMATIC STENCIL CUTTER l1 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed May 17, 1955 5 R v, M Tn .K M mmw m e wmm d m mBwm w Awmw E L m ry.

P 3958 A. A. BERLKNSKY ETAL 2,854,111?

AUTOMATIC STENCIL CUTTER Filed May 17, 1955 1 11 Sheets-Sheet 7INVENTORS Amhony A Berh'nsk Y Lesf-er F Wilkinson koberl- Kee BY LeroyWoad m ATTORNEY Sept- 3&1 153 A. A. BERLINSKY EI'AL 2,

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IIl'lll lllllllllllllllll O IITI' United States Patent AUTOMATIC srnNcn.CUTTER Anthony A. Berlinsky, Washington, D. C., and Lester F. Wilkinson,Churchton, and Robert Kee, Forest Heights, Md, and Leroy T. Wood,Washington, D. C., assignors to the United States of America asrepresented by the Secretary of Commerce Application May 17, 1955,Serial No. 509,124

21 Claims. (Cl. 197-20) This invention relates to an automatic stencilcutter for inscribing intelligence in response to sensed codedinformation. The invention particularly relates to the inscribing ofintelligence such as the particular identity of a subject on aperforated card such as is commonly employed in a data processingmachine.

The use of perforated cards on which information data is stored by meansof Hollerith coded perforations is well known. The information generallystored on such cards includes, in addition to specific technical data ofany variety, coded perforations which identify the subject of the card,as, for example, a person or company, together with the address andserial numbers which give a ready indication of information whichfurther identifies the person or company as to address, age, type ofbusiness etc. However, in order to discern such information, theperforated cards must be run through a data processing machine whichsorts the cards according to predetermined desired subject categoriesand then reads and decodes the perforations and prints out the desiredinformation in an automatic typewriter.

if, for example, the name and address of the cards subject is desired,such involved procedure must be performed for each card and theresulting information thereby made available must then be transferredtoan envelope either by actuating an automatic typewriter or cuttingstencils for subsequent transfer to an envelope.

To obviate the necessity for such involved procedure, the presentinvention provides a rapid and economical way of providing on eachperforated card, in addition to the coded information already providedthereon, an integral stencil which directly indicates desiredinformation such as the name and address of the particular subjectcorresponding to a card. Thus there is readily available on the card,without subsequent processing, a stencil for directly addressingcommunications to the subject.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an automaticstencil cutter which is singularly adapted to punch out on aconventional perforated card or other record medium the name and addressand other identifying information concerning a subject.

it is a further object of this invention to provide an automatic stencilcutter which is automatically operated in accordance with codedinformation provided by apro gramming device.

his a still further object of this invention to provide an automaticstencil cutter which automatically handles stacked groups of cards insequence and accurately positions and records desired information on apredetermined area of the card.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a sequencecontrolled stencil cutter which automatically responds to codedinstructions provided in the form of programmed information which willperform the operations of (l) selecting a card from a stack, (2)positioning said card in operative position in the stencil cutter, (3)punching out groups of intelligence with automatic spac- 'ice ingbetween words, (4) automatically line-spacing the perforatedinformation, and (5) ejecting the completed card into a collectionhopper.

Other uses and advantages of the invention will become apparent uponreference to the specification and drawings.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the automatic stencil cutter as seenfrom the front;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of a portion of the machine shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the portion of the machine shown in Fig.2, certain parts being omitted;

Fig. 4 is a top view of the machine shown partly in section and withcertain parts omitted for purposes of clarity;

Fig. 5 is a rear view of the machine;

Fig. 6 is an isometric view showing the card carriage together with someof the pertinent control mechanism;

Fig. 7 is a vertical section taken on line 77 of 'Fig. 2 showing thecard perforating mechanism;

Fig. 8 is an isometric view which details the card feed mechanism;

Fig. 9 is a mechanical schematic diagram showing-the operativerelationship among the machine components;

Figs. 10A10B which form a single diagram with Fig. 10B arranged on topof Fig. 10A is a schematic wiring diagram illustrating the electricalcircuitry;

Fig. 11 is a diagrammatic illustration showing the arrangement of thecharacter-punch selecting solenoids employed in the machine;

Fig. 12 details a portion of a preferred type of programming tapeemployed and further illustrates typical coded instructions and theirmeaning;

Fig. 13 is a timing diagram showing the operative periods of respectivecontrol elements employed;

Fig. 14 shows the type of stencil cutting produced in a typicalperforated card, and

Fig. 15 is an isometric view of a special electromagnet constructionemployed to actuate various mechanisms of the invention.

The overall assembly of the automatic stencil cutter is shown in Fig. l.The machine includes a cabinet enclosure which houses a main machineframe 101 portions of which are contained within the cabinet in Fig. '1.The frame includes a machine base plate 102 which serves as the supportfor the card handling mechanism. Mounted on such base plate is the cardfeed control mechanism generally designated as 103, the tape reader andcard feed drive motor 104, the card -feed hopper 105, and the tapereading mechanism 106. A relay type information translator 107 is shownoccupying a portion of the interior of the cabinet 100. Fig. 1 furthershows the card storage hopper 108, the card ejecting roller assembly109, and the card perforating punch mechanism 110. There is also shownin Fig. 1 the shiftable card carriage 111 which is slidably mounted on aguide and is indexed by means of a carriage word spacing mechanismco-operably related with a carriage return solenoid R-24. Thepunch-cards C when inoperative position are supported on a platen 114which extends up to the storage hopper 108.

In order to orient the various mechanisms involved .in the overallfunctioning of the machine, the general arrangement and operation of themachine will first be described with particular reference to themechanical schematic diagram shown in Fig. '9.

The machine is automatically sequence-controlled by a perforatedprogramming tape T bearing distinct rows of coded information patternseach containing a particular machine control instruction as shown inFig. .12.

The programming tape T may be 'of the type prepared medium withoutlimit.

3 on a standard Flexowriter coding machine such as is manufactured bythe Commercial Controls Corporation, although any known preferred methodof preparing programming material can also be employed. In preparing theprogramming tape the operator, working from known data, will rapidlyencode the desired intelligence which is to appear on the punch-card orother record medium which the machine of this invention is adapted tohandle, as well as the necessary instructions required by the machine toprocess the punch-card through various manipulative steps as will bedescribed.

A typical example of the type of information to be cut on the card isillustrated in Fig. 14 which shows a typical commercial punch-card whichhas been stencil-cut by the mechanism of this invention as indicated bythe area A. It willbe notedthat information in the form of the name andaddress of a particular addressee together-with other pertinentinformation appears in the form of distinct perforated lines eachcontaining one or more spaced words or information groups. As will beevident from Fig. 12, each character and each particular instructionwill be represented by a distinct row of coded perforations respectivelyon the tape. The correlation between each coded instruction and theparticular intelligence or instruction represented thereby is indicatedin Fig. 12. For example, a code indicating the alphabetical letter Awill be represented in coded form by perforations appearing in channels1 and 2 of the tape while perforations in channels 3, 5, and 6 indicatea carriage-return instruction.

The Flexowriter is sufliciently flexible to enable coding ofinstructions representing each of the 26 alphabetical characters, thevarious digit'numbers from 1 to 9, punctuation marks, special signs, andat least 7 special control functions. The operator, in preparing theprogram tape, therefore merely types out on the keyboard of theFlexowriter, word by Word, the desired information. When the space barof the Flexowriter is operated, a code containing perforations inchannel3 of the tape appears whereas a line-space code corresponding toperforations in channels 3 and is obtained when the carriagereturn keyon the Flexowriter keyboard is operated. Similarly a special codeoccupying channels of the tape is perforated to signify that a card hasbeen completed and will result in the ejection of a completed card.

In this manner an operator can,. with great rapidity, code a programmingtape with information to be in- The card carriage 111 is indicated inFig. 9 as being slidably mounted directly in front of the platen 114 andis guided for movement parallel to the platen by means of a guide barand a rack 615 which is operatively connected to a carriage indexing andreturn mechanism 620. The latter mechanism includes a pinion 616rotatably mounted on the carriage indexing shaft 635a. A clutch plate620a is secured to the pinion and is adapted to rotate therewith. .Theclutch plate includes a plurality of circumferentially arranged, equallyspaced holes 6200 adapted to receive a connecting pin 621 secured to ashiftable sleeve 620. The sleeve 62012 is connected to a carriage returnsolenoid R-24. The sleeve 620b is normally biased so that the connectingpin 621 engages in the described peripheral holes 6200 in the clutchplate. The card carriage 111 is normally biased to the right as seenfrom the front in Fig. 9 by means of a flexible tape 631 one end ofwhich is secured to the, card carriage, the other one. being connectedto the spring biased carriage return drum 632. The carriage indexingshaft 635a carries an indexing ratchet 640 secured thereto which may beintermittently advanced by a pawl 636a. The pawl is adapted to beoperated either by a rocker plate 636 secured to the indexing shaft orcollaterally by the armature of an indexing solenoid .R-29 secured tothe machine frame. It will be apparent from Fig. 9, that as the indexingshaft 635a is reciprocated by the indexing-shaft lever 6.35, the pawl636a will intermittently engage with and step the ratchet wheel 640 in acounterclockwise direction as viewed from the front in Fig. 9.

The pinion 616 is directly coupled to clutch plate 620a and both suchelements are adapted to be connected to v the index shaft 635a by sleeve6201) and pin 621. When is perforated in the perforated card by theperforating scribed on a series of perforated cards or other record Ifthe operator were to directly inscribe such intelligence directly on thepunch-card by using a standard Elliott type of perforating machine theproduction efiiciency would be greatly. decreased because of thenecessity of separately feeding a card into the machine and thenoperating on it in typewriter-like fashion.

The automatic stencil cutter comprising the present invention isdesigned to accomplish the stencilcutting operation automatically and athigh speed. The combined advantages gained by employing the inherenthigh speed of operation of a tape. coding device such as the Flexowritertogether with the automatic stencil cutter of this invention are such asto immeasurably increase the .productive efforts involved when a largeamount of information must be handled. Moreover, the editing andcorrection of errors in the program tape minimizes the relatively highnumber of wasted punch-cards which have been inaccurately cut. I 'Fig. 9shows the relationship among the principal mechanical components of theautomatic stencil cutter comprising the present invention. Certain ofthe mechanisms involved including the electrical control elements havebeen omitted from the schematic illustration of Fig. 9 for purposes ofclarity. The operative components are shown in their general orientationwith respect to the centrally located ip'late'nperfo'rating stationdefined by the operating punch assembly 110.

mechanism of the stencil cutter, the indexing shaft will be reciprocatedonce by lever 635 and the card carriage 111 will consequently be indexedone letter space in conventional typewriter fashion. 'Word spacing isprovided for by specially actuating the above-described carriageindexing mechanism by means of the word-space solenoid R29. Thesequenced instructions provided in the programming tape T as describedwill transmit a word-space instruction signal each time a word space isrequired.

Such signal is manifested by energization of the wordspace solenoidR-29i shown in Fig. 9. As already described, such solenoid isoperatively associated with the indexing pawl 636a and willtherefore actto index the carriage the requisite number of times to provide a wordspace.

Means are operativelyv provided in connection with the card carriage 111to provide for line spacing when called for by an instruction in theprogramming tape. The card carriage 111 includes a pair of card grippingrollers 601, 602 which are normally in engagement so as to firmly griptherebetween a punch-card C. The lower roller 602 is provided at one endwith a-roller indexing ratchet 612 adapted to he stepped by a pawl 613slidably carried by the frame of the card carriage. As will bedescribed, the roller advancing pawl 613 is adapted to be stepped by aline-space solenoid R-23 whenever the carriage is in its initialright-hand position as viewed from the front in Fig. 9. Thus whencarriage return movement is accomplished the action of the line-spacerocker 617 which is secured to a line-space solenoid R-23 will act toinde solenoid will be energized and will pivot the rocker 617 to'actuatethe line spacing pawl 613 and a line space will thereby be performed.The rocker 617 is adapted to engage the lever of an end-of-line-spacemicro switch S-3 mounted on the machine frame adjacent the rocker lever617. The purpose of this switch is to de-energize the line-spacingcontrol circuit after a line spacing operation has been performed aswill be described.

Carriage return movement is obtained by energization of the carriagereturn solenoid R-24 which will retract the sleeve 6201: and disconnectpin 621 from engagement with the clutch plate 620a. Since only thesleeve 62% is connected to index shaft 635a, clutch plate 620a andpinion 616 are thereby rendered freely rotatable on the indexing shaft635a and the carriage return drum 632 will return the card carriage 111to its initial right-hand position. An end-of-carriage-returnmicroswitch S-5 is positioned to be intercepted by the carriage when itarrives at such initial position. The microswitch S-5 is operativelyrelated to the carriage-return solenoid circuit to be described and actsto de-energize the solenoid R-24 upon completion of carriage returnmovement.

A normally closed card-position microswitch 8-4 is diagrammaticallyshown in Fig. 9 mounted over the card platen 114 so that it is held openby a punch-card when carried in the card carriage 111. Such switch ispart of the card feed control circuit and functions to disenable a cardfeed operation so long as a card is held in the card carriage.

The card perforating and carriage indexing mechanism are both operatedby a main drive motor M. As shown in Fig. 9, the motor drives a powershaft 717 through a conventional belt and pulley drive 713 and the powershaft is connected by bevel gears 718, 718a to a vertical drive shaft703 which carries the character punch magazine 702 and character punchselecting mechanism, only portions of which are shown in Fig. 9 forpurposes of clarity. The means for selecting a desired character is amodification of a conventional Elliott perforating machine and will bedescribed in connection with the detailed description of the machineconstruction.

The character punch operating member 710 is reciprocated by a lever 724and is driven by an eccentric 712 fixed to the power shaft 717 through aone-cycle clutch. When the clutch is engaged, .a vertical plunger 714 isreciprocated by the eccentric and causes a selected character punch toperforate the card. The plunger 714 also concurrently transmitsreciprocative motion through link 714a to the indexing shaft operatinglever 635 and, through link 7141: and ratchet drive 730, to the die tapefeed rollers 731.

When stencil cutting of a card is completed, ejection of the card fromcarriage 111 into storage hopper 108 (Fig. 1) is obtained throughenergization of a card ejection mechanism generally designated at 109comprising an ejection roller 628, a card ejection drive motor 627, acontrol solenoid R-12 and related linkage. The ejection roller 628 iscarried in a normally suspended position above and out of contact withthe platen 114 and is continuously driven by the ejection drive motor627 through a belt drive. The roller 628 is mounted on a carrier arm 630normally biased to a raised position and pivotally supported by themotor frame. A rocker arm 633 is adapted to engage the carrier arm whenactuated by the card eject solenoid R-12 mounted adjacent the ejectmotor. The rocker arm is connected to the solenoid R-12 by a shaftrockably mounted on the machine frame in a manner to be described. Whencompletion of a card is manifested by an instruction on the programtape, energization of the eject solenoid R-12 will cause the rocker arm633 to depress the eject roller 628 into contact with the surface of apunch-card lying on the platen 114. At such point in the operation ofthe machine the rollerrelease solenoid R610 on the card carriage 111will also be energized to separate the rollers in the card carriage andthe punch-card is thereby rendered free to be pro-' jacent the front ofthe platen and directly in alignment with the referred to space betweenthe rollers 601, 602 of the card carriage 111. A pair of reciprocatingfingers a are provided in suitable guides at the bottom of the hopper.These fingers are machined so as to be engageable with the edge of abottommost card only. The linkage 205-207 reciprocates'the fingers tofeed a bottommost card from the stack into the space between therollers. A card feed solenoid R-21 is provided which, when energized,initiates a one-cycle clutch arrangement to be described which causesthe motor 104 to drive the card feed linkage through a card feed cycle.An extension of the shaft 200 also rotates four timing cams 220, 221,222, 223 operatively associated with a like number of timing circuitbreaker contacts S8, S-9, S-10, and S11 whose function in the controlcircuit will be sub sequently described. The timing shaft also energizesa standard Flexowriter tape reading mechanism 106 symbolically shown inFig. 9.

The operation of the over-all mechanism diagrammatically illustrated inFig. 9 can now be outlined. The normally closed card positionmicroswitch S-4 mounted on platen 114 is employed to trigger the cardfeed mechanism when the machine is first started. That is, assuming thatthere is no card in the card carriage 111, the card feed control circuitto be later detailed will be energized when the machine is started andcause the linkage 205207 to feed a card from the hopper 105 to the cardcarriage 111. As will be described the pressure roller solenoid R-610will be energized at such time to separate the rollers 601, 602 andpermit entry of the card therebetween. After a card has been positionedin the card carriage, a portion thereof will project on the platen 114and will therefore engage the operating lever of the card positionmicroswitch S-4 to open and de-energize the card feed control circuit.The card is in continuous engagement with such switch during allperforating and positioning operations and therefore the card feedmechanism is de-energized until a completed card is ejected from theplaten. At such time, the switch S4 will be released to normally closedposition and will re-energize the card-feed control circuit and therebyinitiate another card-feed cycle.

After a card has been fed into the card carriage, the roller solenoidR-610 is de-energized and the card is firmly gripped by the rollers 601and 602. Instructions trans mitted as signals from the tape reader 106are then memorized by a translator mechanism (not shown in Fig. 9) whichautomatically causes the machine to execute any one of the following sixcontrol operations, namely stencilcutting of a character, word spacing,line spacing, card eject, code stop and code delete.

If a stencil-cutting operation is called for by the program tape, themachine will automatically position the character punch magazine 702 sothat the desired character or symbol punch is aligned with theperforating punch 710. Concurrently, as will be described, the motor Mwill actuate the arm 724 to perforate the card with a selected characterpunch and the transmission of such power stroke through links 714a and635 will reciprocate the carriage index shaft 635a to shift the cardcarriage one letter space. If one or more word space instruction signals are sensed on the program tape, the word-space sole.-

noid R-29 is energized the requisite number of times to i ass ar 17leases the clutch finger 621 and allows the carriage returnv drum 632 toshift the card carriagelll to its initial (righthand) position. When thecarriage is in such position, the line-space solenoid ft-23 is energizedto cause the rocker 617 and pawl 613 to rotate the rollers 601, 602 oneormore line-space increments and thereby advance the portion of the cardlying on platen 114 with respect to the perforating punch.

Upon completion of a card, both the card eject mechanism 109 and thecardfeed mechanism 205-207 are energized in sequence. When a card iscompleted, a

' proper instruction signal will energize the card eject solenoid 12-12,the roller-pressure solenoid R610 will be energized to release therollers 601 and 602 and the eject roller 623 will then engage with andpropel the completed and freed card into'the collection hopper.Simultaneously, the card position microswitch S4 is released to closedposition to activate the card feed solenoid R-21. The remainingsequenced control functions will be described in connection with thecontrol circuit.

The above-described mechanisms are specifically implemented in theconstruction now to be described in connection with Figs. 2-8 and 11-14,the electrical controls for articulating the functions of suchmechanisms being described in connection with Figs. 10A-10B.

. T he card handling mechanism The card handling mechanism comprisesmeans for feeding a card from the storage hopper 105 into the cardcarriage 111, carriage control means for manipulating the card invarious rectilinear positions with respect to a card perforatingstation, and means for removing the card from the carriage and ejectingit into the collecting hopper 108. The above operations are dividedamong (1) the card feed mechanism and (2) mechanisms controlled by thetranslator in response to instructions from the program tape. Referringto Figs. 3 and 6 the rollers 601, 602 on the card carriage 111 serve thedual purposes of (l) gripping the card to hold it while it is beingpunched and (2) displacing the card with respect to the carriage toperform line spacing functions. Once the punch-card is positioned be-'tween the rollers in the roller carriage it is firmly gripped thereby ina position such that a portion of the card is positioned on the platen114 in proximity to the card perforating station defined by operatingpunch 710. The card carriage 111 is then indexed in typewriter-likefashion one letter-space consequent to a perforation action and, uponcompletion of a line, the carriage is returned to an initial position atwhich time the rollers 601, 602 are actuat d in a line-spaci11goperation to advance the card Upon completion of a perforatingoperation, the rollers are separated and the ejection 'roller 623propels the completed card into the collector bin 108.

The card carriage 111 is shown in Figs. 3 and 6 as being slidablymounted directly to the rear of, the card feed magazine 105 adjacent theupper portion of frame member 101. The construction of the card carriageis more clearly explained in the isometric view of Fig. 6. As shown inthis figure, the carriage comprises a U-shaped frame 600 in which afirst lower roller 601 and a second upper roller 602 are rotatablymounted. The axis of rotation of the lower roller 601 is fixed, withrespect to the frame 630, but the pintles forming the rotational. axisof the upper roller 602 are mounted in bearings provided in a pair ofsimilar vertically shiftable carriers 603. Each of the carriers issuspended from the ends of a pair of lifting links 604, 605 which arefulcrumed to the frame 600 and pinned together and to the medial portionof an actuating link 606 at point 607. Link 606 is in turn.

fulcrumed to the frame 600 by means of a bracket 608.

A roller release solenoid R610 is fixed to one sidev of the frame .600as shown in Fig. 6 and the solenoidis provided with an armature 611which is pivotally engaged with one end of link 606. In the positionshown in Fig. 6, the rollers 601, 602 are normally in engagement, theproximity between the two being sufficient to firmlyf engage aperforated card which has been .positioned therebetween' as will becomeapparent. Energization of the roller-release solenoid R-610 will resultin a downward displacement of the armature 611 and the resultingfulcrurning of links 606, 605, and 607 will produce elevation of boththe carrierplates 603 to separate the upper roller 602 from the lowerroller, thereby providing a clearance space to accommodate a card.

The lower roller 601 is provided with a ratchet wheel.

612 cooperably related with a ratchet pawl 613 pivotally mounted on thecarriage frame 600by means of a slide 614. it will be apparentthatvertical displacement of the slide will cause pawl 613 to engage withand ad ably mounted in suitable guides 615a fixed to the main machineframe 101. A portion of the lower edge of the guidebar is machined toprovide a toothedrack 61517 which is engaged by a pinion 616 formingpart of the carriage indexing mechanism to be described.

As is conventional, the initial position of the card-carriage is to theright as viewed from the front in Fig. 6, and, as each letter isperforated in the punch-card by the perforating mechanism, the carriageis indexed space by space to the left until a selected line iscompleted. Line spacing of a card carried between the rollers 601 and602 is accomplished in a manner similar to the action of a typewriter byshifting the card carriage bodily back to its initial right-handposition. Upon completion of such carriage displacement, the lowerportion ofthe slide 614 will be in position to engage against the noseof a pivoted rocker 617. pivotally secured to the main machine frame bymeans of a pintle 6176:. The slide 614 is'slidably mounted on the frame600 of the card carriage and will be displaced upwardly when engaged bythe rocker 617. i

A line space solenoid R-23 is mounted on the main machine frame belowthe card carriage (see Fig. 2) and its armature 618 is connected to thebell crank 617. When a line space is called for by a codedrepresentation of the program tape T, the solenoid R23 willbe energizedto pivot the rocker 617 which will raise the slide or pawl carrier 614,thus causing the pawl 613 to advance the ratchet 612 and roller 601 oneline space. Should a line space not be called for, however, the solenoidR-23 will not be energized so that no line spacing will occur uponreturn movement of the card carriage.

An end-of-line space microswitch S3 is disposed adjacent the rocker 617as shown in Fig. 6 and is adapted I to be actuated by an extension ledge617k. As willbe later made apparent, the microswitch S3 is articulatedwith the line-space solenoid energization circuit to as to 'de-energizethe'circuit upon completion of a linespac'e operation. by theprogramming tape, the line-space solenoid R23 will be'repeatedlyenergized while the card carriage is in its initial right-hand positionand the consequent pivot-- special clutch comprisingsleeve 62012, andclutch plate If repeated line spacings are called for 9 620a whichcooperates with the pinion 616 and a further related control linkage toregulate the indexing of the card carriage. A carriage-return tape 631is provided which connects the slidable card carriage 111 to acarriage-return reel 632 mounted on the machine frame.

The carriage indexing mechanism is constructed to permit indexing of thecard carriage 111 (1) following a card perforating operation, (2) uponreceipt of a programmed (word space) instruction from the program tapeand (3) to permit carriage return movement to its initial right-handposition upon receipt of a line space or other special control functioninstructional signal from the program tape. To permit such mode ofoperation, the indexing shaft 635a is made in two sections; a rearsection to which the reciprocating lever 635 and the pawl driver 636 aresecured, and a forward portion on which the sleeve 62% is slidably butnonrotatably mounted and to which the ratchet wheel 640 is secured.

The carriage indexing pinion 616 and clutch plate 620a comprise aunitary assembly which is rotatably mounted on the forward part ofindexing shaft 63512. It will be apparent that, as the rear portion ofthe shaft 635a is reciprocated by lever 635, the pawl driver and pawl636:: will step the ratchet wheel 640 and transmit stepwise motion in acounterclockwise direction to the forward portion of the shaft. Assumingthat the sleeve 62012 is in a position wherein the clutch pin is inengagement with a hole 62% in clutch plate 620a, such step by stepmotion will be transmitted to the pinion 616 which, in turn will indexthe card carriage 111 the distance of one letter space at a time inconventional typewriter-like fashion.

It will be noted from Fig. 6 that the indexing pawl is co-laterallyconnected to the space solenoid R-29. Because of such connection,energization of such solenoid will actuate pawl 636a independently ofthe driver 636 and lever 635. As will be described, the word-spacesolenoid is energized by an instruction signal from the program tape andimparts suflicient motion to pawl 636a and ratchet 640 to index thecarriage the equivalent of a word space.

The sleeve 62012 is normally urged in a direction in which theconnecting pin 621 is engaged with the holes 6200 in the clutch plate620a and the sleeve, pinion 616, ratchet 640 and the tape are therebyoperated in unison as the carriage is indexed. Upon completion of a lineof perforations, the carriage-return solenoid R-24 is energized underinstruction of the program tape, displacing the sleeve 62% and pin 621from operative engagement with clutch plate 620a. Since the pinion 616and clutch plate 620a are now freely rotatable on shaft 6350, thecarriage-return spring drum 632 will then retract the card carriage toits initial, right-hand position at which time de-energization of thecarriage-return solenoid R-24 will release the connecting pin intoengagement with clutch plate 620a.

When a perforated card is positioned between the rollers 601, 602 in thecard carriage 111, the portion of the card which projects over theplaten 114 is adapted to engage and open the normally closedcard-position microswitch 8-4 (see Fig. 9) which is mounted directlyover the platen. The operating arm of the switch is continuously engagedby a card so long as it is held in such position. One function ofmicroswitch 8-4 is to deenergize the card-feed control circuit so longas a card is positioned in the card carriage and thus prevent multiplefeeding. After a completed card is ejected from the card carriage, themicroswitch S-4 is closed and thus permits subsequent energization ofthe card-feed control circuit which then functions to automatically feeda card into the card carriage.

When a card is held in the card carriage, a portion thereof extends overthe platen 114 as described. A portion of the platen is provided with aslot 624 (Fig. 6) which gives access to an idler roller 625, theperiphery of which is substantially flush with the upper surface of theplaten.

A card-ejection roller 628 is suspended immediately above the slot 624shown in Fig. 6. The ejecting roller is continuously driven by cardejecting motor 627 secured to the main machine frame 101. Referring alsoto Fig. 3, the ejecting roller is shown rotatably mounted on a spindle628a which is eccentrically mounted with respect to the motor shaft 629.Such eccentric mount comprises a radius arm 630 which is pivotallysecured to the motor concentrically with the motor axis by a bracket631. A drive pulley 629a is also affixed to the shaft of eject motor 627and is drivingly associated with the eject roller 628 by a belt 632. Theradius arm 630 is normally suspended in an elevated position withrespect to platen 114 by a spring (not shown) and is adapted to bepivoted downward by means of a shifter 633 (see Fig. 6) which is pivotedto the frame and connected to a control shaft 634.

A card-eject solenoid R-12 is secured to the rear of the motor 627 asshown in Figs. 3 and 6. The armature of the solenoid R12 is connected toa crank arm 634b (see Fig. 5) which is keyed to the shaft 634. The shaft634 is rotatably mounted in bearings 634a (Fig. 6) fixed to the machineframe and is therefore subject to rotation when the card-eject solenoidR-12 is energized. Rotation of such shaft will obviously cause theshifter 633 to depress the radius arm 630 and ejection roller 628 intocontact with the guide roller 625 mounted below the platen. As isapparent, when the card carriage has been shifted to its initialright-hand position, and upon receipt of a completion signal from theprogram tape, energization of the card eject solenoid R-12 will causethe roller 628 to engage the surface of the card and propel thecompleted card along the platen 114 and into the collection bin 108.

The carriage indexing shaft 635a also has secured thereto a pair ofcircuit breaker operating cams 637, 638 adapted to co-act with a firstand second set of circuit breaker contacts 8-12 and 8-13 as shown inFig. 9 for a purpose to be described.

Fig. 6 also shows the orientation with respect to the card carriage ofthe end-of-carriage-return rnicroswitch 8-5. The operating lever of suchswitch is disposed in the path of the frame of the card carriage 111 soas to be actuated thereby when the card carriage is returned to itsinitial right-hand position. Actuation of such switch acts to disenablethe carriage-return solenoid (R-24) energization circuit as will bedescribed.

Card feed mechanism The card-feed mechanism comprises a card-feed hopper(Figs. 3, 4, and 7) and a motor driven automatic card-feed linkage whichis detailed in Figs. 3 and 7. The hopper 105 comprises a rectangularstorage box suitably dimensioned to accommodate a standard Hollerithtype punch-card. The front wall of the hopper as shown in Fig. 7 isprovided with a slot 105a adjacent the bottom surface through which abottomrnost card may be projected into the card carriage 111. As notedin Fig. 7, the bottom of the card hopper, the space between the cardholding rollers 601 and 602 in the card carriage 111 and the top surfaceof the platen 114 lie on a common horizontal plane. A portion of theplaten 114 is provided with a guide plate 114a made of spring materialand which forms a card receiving pocket. The guide plate also includesan opening 11 1b for accommodating the character punch.

As best shown in the top view of Fig. 4, the bottom surface of the cardhopper 105 is provided with a pair of slots 105b, extending the width ofthe hopper, and a guide bar 105d is suitably mounted in the center ofeach slot. A card feeding finger 105e is slidably mounted in each of theslots on a respective one of the guide bars. Each feeding finger 105acomprises a plate having a machined edge which is so proportioned as tobe engageable with the thickness ofa single one of the cards in thehopper.

Referring to'Figs. 2, 3, 7, and 8, the card feeding mechanism furtherincludes an eccentric 204, a connecting rod 205, a bell crank 206 and areciprocating cardfeed lever 207. The eccentric 204 is rotatably mountedon the motor driven tape-reader drive shaft 200 and is provided with aneccentric strap 204a connected to one end of the connecting rod 205. Theother end of the connecting rod is connected with one arm of hell crank206 by means of a pin 206a (see Figs. 3 and 7) while the other arm ofthe bell crank is connected to a medial portion of the reciprocablecard-feed lever 207 at 20Gb. The center of the bellcrank and the lowerend of the reciprocable lever are connected to the main machine frame bypillow blocks 206C and 207a respectively (Fig. 3). The upper end of thereciprocable card-feed lever is connected to the described card-feedfingers 105e.

The eccentric 204 is normally freely rotatable on the motor driven shaft200 and is adapted to be operatively engaged therewith by means of aone-cycle clutch which is clearly detailed in Fig. 8. The clutchcomprises a ratchet wheel 210 fixed to the shaft 200, a pawl 210arotatably mounted on the eccentric and a latch 211. The latch 211 isconnected by means of a shaft 212 to an operating lever 213 which isoperatively engaged by the described card-feed solenoid -R21 (see alsoFigs. 2 and 9).

Asis apparent from Fig. 8, the latch 211 normally holds the pawl 210a ina retracted position with respect to the ratchet 210. Energization ofthe card-feed solenoid R21 will rock lever- 213 and latch 211 to undogthe pawl 210a, the nose of which is thereby projected, by a spring (notshown), into engagement with the teeth of the ratchet wheel 210, therebyestablishing a connection between the rotating shaft 200 and theeccentric 204. An end-of-card-feedmicroswitch S14 is mounted on themachine frame adjacent the eccentric 204 andthe arm of the switch ispositioned to lie within the path of an operating projection 200amounted on the shaft. Such projection is oriented with respect to theshaft 200 so that it will engage the operating arm of the microswitchS14 after a card-feed cycle has been initiated and will therefore act tode-energize the card-feed solenoid R-21, to prevent more than one cycleof the card-feed mechanism. The card-feed solenoid R-21 is energizedwhen operation of the machine is initiated as will be explained inconnection with the description of the control circuit.

Referring to Figs. 3 and 7, when the eccentric 204 is rotated, it willrock the bell crank 206 about its fixed fulcrum 206s and therebyreciprocate the card-feed lever 207. The consequent shifting of thecard-feed fingers 105e (Fig. 4) causes the lowermost one of the cards inthe hopper 105 to be projected through slot 105a (Fig. 7) and into thespace between the rollers of the roller carriage 111.

Card perforating mechanism The card perforating mechanism employed withthe automatic stencil cutter is similar in construction to that employedin the conventional Elliott Stencil Cutter but has been suitablymodified for automatic operation in connection with the sequencecontrolled operational features of the present invention.

Fig. 7 is a vertical section taken partially through the center of themachine and clearly shows the operative zine'includes a plurality ofperipherally arranged pockets- '12 each of which contains acharacter-perforating punch P corresponding to any desired number,symbol, letter or other intelligence. Each of the character-perforatingpunches is normally held retracted in its respective pocket by a spring702a which is anchored to the character punch and to the cylinder 702respectively as is conventional in the Elliott machine.

' The magazine 702 is normally constantly rotating while the machine isin operation and indexing of a selected character punch is accomplishedby abruptly stopping the magazine at a position in which the selectedcharacter is aligned with the fixed perforating station defined by theposition of the operating punch 710. The magazine is supported forrotational movement by a bearing 703a fixed to the main machine frame101.

A selector pin assembly 704 comprising a cylindrical housing is provideddirectly below the magazine for indexing the magazine. The assembly isfixed to the machine frame and is provided with a plurality ofperipherally arranged pockets corresponding in number to the number ofcharacter punches carried by the magazine 702. Acharacter-punch-selection stop pin 705 is slidably mounted for movementin a vertical direction in each of the pockets in the cylindricalhousing. The upper end of each stop pin is normally flush with the uppersurface of the housing 704 but each stop pin is adapted ,to beselectively projected beyond the housing surface against the action of acoil spring 707. In accordance with the present invention, a pluralityof solenoids R-30 of the general type detailed in Fig. 15 are nestedbetween a pair of supporting plates 706-706a below the stop pins andfixed to the machine frame. The. solenoids R-30 are arranged inalignment with and are operatively connected to each of the stop pins705.

A sensing arm 708 is shown in Fig. 7 as being rotatably mounted abovethe upper surface of the stop pin assembly housing 704 and is providedwith a pair of oppositely disposed pin sensing fingers which are notdetailedin the drawing. The sensing arm rotates conjointly with themagazine 702. The fingers are pivoted to the opposite ends of thesensing arm. A pair of clutch operating levers 709 are pivotally mountedon the sensing arm and are each operatively connected to the inner endsof each of the sensing fingers, respectively. Such construction exceptfor the solenoids R-30 is characteristic of the referred to Elliottperforating machine and is not further described in detail. It isapparent however from Fig. 7 that when the sensing fingers on therotating sensing arm 708 come into contact with a selected one of thestop pins which has been projected by cnergization of one of theselection solenoids R-30, the sensing finger will be pivoted and therebyactuate the clutch operating levers 709. These levers are pivoted abouta horizontal axis and will function to project downwardly an internalclutch operating plunger 70312 which is slidably mounted within thevertical spindle 703. The plunger 703k causes translation-of a clutchoperating bar 711 slidably mounted in a guide 711a secured to themachine frame. The purpose of the clutch operating bar is to initiatethe onecycle clutch forming part of the eccentric drive 712 for thepunch operating mechanism which provides a connection between the maindrive flywheel 713 and the vertically reciprocable connecting rod 714.

The rotating sensing arm 708 is further provided with a plurality offriction fingers 715 which extend downwardly into engagement with theinternal face of an annular friction ring 716 which is supported forrotation by the referred to hollow spindle 703. The magazine 702 isunited to the sensing arm 708 by means of a hub 730 and, because of thefrictional contact beween the friction fingers 715 and the annular ring716, it will be apparent that, as the spindle 703 is continuouslyrotated by the drive shaft 717, the sensing arm 708 and the magazine.will rotate in unison. The drive shaft 717 is.

13 connected to the motor driven pulley 713, and to spindle 703 by bevelgears 718, 719.

When the rotating sensing arm 708 is intercepted by a projected one ofthe stop pins, both the arm and the magazine willbe abruptly stopped ina position so that the desired character punch is in alignment with thepower-driven actuator punch 710, the friction fingers 715 permitting thespindle to rotate continuously after the magazine is stopped in indexedposition.

The actuating punch 710 is carried at the end of a pivoted lever 720which is pivotally mounted on the machine frame by shaft 721. A curvedtrack 722 extends from the free end of the lever 720 and is connected tothe machine frame by an expansion spring 723. An operating ramcomprising a lever 724 is pivoted to the machine frame as indicated at727. The ram includes an extension 725 which carries a roller 726adapted to engage with the curved track 722.

The portion 724 of the ram extends to the rear of the machine as shownin Fig. 7 where it is connected to the vertically extending connectingrod 714 by means of a suitable coupling 728. The connecting rod isconnected to the power shaft by means of an eccentric strap 712astraddling an eccentric which is secured to the motor driven power shaft717. The eccentric mechanism which forms part of the conventionalElliott machine includes a single-cycle clutch of standard design andthe eccentric therefore normally idles with respect to the power shaft717. When the plunger 703b has been actuated in the described manner asa result of a character-punch selecting operation, the clutch operatingbar 711 will energize the clutch, and the connecting rod 714 and ram 724will be driven by the eccentric 712. The consequent displacement ofroller 726 will depress the lever 720 and cause the selected characterpunch to perforate a card positioned at the perforating station of themachine.

Timing mechanism The tape reader drive shaft 200 as shown in Figs. 4 and9 includes a plurality of operating cams 221, 222, 223, and 224associated with (1) the clutch circuit breaker contacts 8-8, (2) timingcircuit breaker contacts No. 2 -9, (3) timing circuit breaker contactsNo. 3 5-10, and (4) the delete circuit breaker contacts 8-11. Thepurpose of these cam operated circuit breakers is to enable anddisenable specified portions of the control circuit at predeterminedperiods during the operating cycle of the machine as indicated in thetiming diagram of Fig. 13. The above-referred to timing cams are alsodesignated symbolically in the circuit diagram of Figs. A and 10B andtheir specific function ing will be further detailed in connection withthe description relating thereto.

The carriage indexing shaft 63511 which is reciprocatively driven by thecard perforating mechanism or the word space solenoid as describedcarries a plurality of operating cams 637 and 638 as indicated in Fig.6. (See also Figs. 3 and 4.) The cams 637 and 638 are operablyassociated with the drop out circuit breaker No. 1 contacts 8-12 and thedrop out circuit breaker No. 2 contacts 8-13. These cams aresymbolically indicated in the circuit diagram of Figs. 10A and 103 inrelation to the contacts 8-12 and 8-13 which are shown in operativerelation with the control circuit in the circuit diagram. The purposeand function of these switches will be discussed in connection with thedescription of the circuit diagram.

Electrical control system The electrical control system which governsthe automatic sequencing of all of the described mechanisms in responseto instructions obtained from the programming tape is illustrated incircuit-diagram form in Figs. 10A and 1013 which, considered together,form a single diagram. The various control solenoids, relays andswitches which are operatively related to the various mechanisms as hasbeen established in connection with the description of Figs. l-9 areindicated in the circuit diagram in the relationship which they have inthe control circuit.

In general, the portion of the circuit shown in Fig. 10A comprising thecard-feed relay R-10, roller pressurerelease solenoid R-610, card-ejectsolenoid R-12, cardfeed solenoid R-21 and card-eject relay R-13 comprisethe card-feed control function circuit while the portion of the circuitillustrated in Fig. 10B mainly comprises the details of the translatorand the remainder of the control circuit.

The character punch selecting pin solenoids R-30 11-30 described inconnection with Fig. 7 are diagrammatically shown in part in Fig. 10B.There are 42 of such pin selection solenoids circumferentially arrangedaccording to the diagram of Fig. 11. As will be noted from Fig. 11, thesolenoids are divided into two groups marked as Section A and Section Brespectively for purposes of identity. The 21 solenoids in each group orsection are similarly designated as 1, 2, 3, etc., being numberedthrough 21. Adjacent the solenoid identifying number, the charactersymbol associated with each solenoid respectively is indicated. Thussolenoid number 9 in Section A (i. e. A9) corresponds to the letter Awhile the like numbered solenoid in Section B (B9) corresponds to letterS. Similarly solenoid 6 in Section A (A6) identifies a minus symbol,etc. The table below tabulates the various character punch symbols Thesolenoids R- are indicated in Fig. 10B by the identifying number andsection as tabulated in the above chart. Each of the pin selectingsolenoids is operatively associated with the translator mechanism aswill be described.

Control circuitry The power requirements are obtained from an AC. sourceto which the machine is connected through a main switch 8-1 as shown inFig. 10A. The three motors employed as the operative drive elementsnamely the perforator motor M, the tape reader drive motor 104, and thecard eject motor 627 are each continuously operated from the A.-C.source when switch 8-1 is closed.

The control circuit is D.-C. energized from a power supply ofconventional construction employing rectifier 1001, choke filter 1002and filter condenser 1003. When the main switch 8-1 is closed themachine is in idling condition in which start switch 8-2 is open,start-stop relay R-9 is de-energized and start-stop contacts C-9 and C-9associated with relay R-9 arev open. Contact C-9 is shown in Fig. 10B.

To initiate action of the machine, push-button type start switch 8-2 ismomentarily closed which completes an energization circuit from thepositive line 1004 through R-9 to ground. -9 is thereby closedtocomplete a hold circuit for R-9. The normally closed card positionmicroswitch 8-4 is mounted adjacent the card platen as already describedso as to be held open during the time a punch-card is present in thecard carriage, and is therefore normally closed at the beginning of acard-feed operation. The above-described actuation of the start switch8-2 will therefore result in the completion of a circuit through suchmicroswitch 8-4 with consequent energization of the following circuitswhich are paralleled to terminal 1005: (1) card-feed relay R-10, (2) theroller pressure-release solenoid R-610, (3) the card-eject solenoid R12,and (4) the card-feed solenoid R-21. These four parallel connectedrelays R10, R610, R-12, and R-21 control operation of the card-feedmechanism. Thus, as previously described, energization of the rollerpressure-release solenoid R-610 separates the card gripping rollers 601,602 (Fig. 6) on the card carriage 111, the card-eject solenoid R-12causes the card-eject roller to engage a card on the platen while thecard-feed solenoid R-21 (Fig. 8) in conjunction with card-feed relayR-10 initiates the action of the card-feed mechanism. Referring to Fig.8 energization of the card-feed solenoid R-21 pivots the lever 213causing latch 211 to undog pawl 210a. The pawl is thereby caused toengage with the ratchet 210 which is being constantly rotated by tape,reader drive motor 104 and the consequent reciprocation of feed lever207 (Fig. 7) expels a bottommost card. from hopper 105. Energization ofthe roller pressurerelease solenoid R-610 will have provided a gapbetween the rollers 601, 602 to receive a card and the card is therebypositioned between the carriage rollers with a portion thereof lying onplaten 114 under the guide leaf 114a (Fig. 7). By the sameinstrumentalities a previously completed card will have been releasedfrom engagement with the rollers 601, '602 and energization of the ejectsolenoid R-12 will cause the eject roller 628 shown in Fig. 6 toengage'with and propel a completed card into the collection bin asdescribed.

Energization of card-feed relay R-10 closes contact C-10 to'complete ahold circuit therefor and thus pro-- vides a continuing positivepotential at terminal 1005 after the normally closed card-positionmicroswitch S-4 is'actuated to an open position and kept open by a cardwhen it is in position on platen 114. As previously described, operationof the card-feed mechanism through one cycle causes actuation of thenormally closed end-ofcard-feed stroke microswitch 8-14 (see also Fig.8) and such switch is therefore opened after a card has been fed fromthe hopper to the card carriage. Therefore, as soon as a card is inplace, the card-feed relay R-10 is immediately de-energized to releaseits hold contact C-10 Since terminal 1005 is also de-energized thereby,all three of the card-feed control elements R-610, R-12, and R-21 areinactivated. In other words, the card gripping rollers 601, 602 on thecard carriage are thus re engaged to hold the feed card, the card-ejectroller is restored to inactivated position and further card feeding iscut oif.

Upon completion of a card-feed cycle in the manner described, theelements and control circuits which perform the 6 described controlfunctions are automatically readied for operation by the programmingtape as follows.

Energization of the card-feed relay. R-10 will have opened the normallyclosed card-feed relay contacts C-10 (Fig. 103) but, after a card is inplace in the card carriage, the resultant op eningof the card-positionmicroswitch S-4 and consequent de-energization of R-10 will now causeC10 to assume its normally closed condition. A circuit is thereby comleted from positive terminal 1004 through C9 (which has been closed byenergization of start-stop relay R-9) and the normally closed endof-linemicroswitch S3 and conductor 1006 to the translator network illustratedin Fig. 10B so that the reader clutch coilR-8is energized at apredetermined time in 16 v the cycle of the machine defined by theclosing of the clutch circuit breaker contacts S-8 by the described cam220.

Such clutch coil is associated with the standard Flexowriter tape readermechanism 106 (Fig. -1) and functions to release the sensing pins P 1P-6 (Fig.. 10A) of the reader mechanism in order to sense the perforatedcode on the programming tape. tions are present on the portion of thetape then being passed through the reader, all circuits remain the sameand the reader clutch coil R 8 will be re-energized cyclically by thecam operated circuit breaker 8-8 with each revolution of the tape readerdrive shaft 200 until a line of information in the form of a perporatcdcode on the tape is sensed.

The pertinent portions of the Flexowriter tape sensing mechanism whichare integrated into the control network shown inFigs. lOA'and 10B areindicated in Fig.

10A by the pin contacts designated as P-1 P-6,- respectively. Suchdesignated contacts represent the six' mounted on the tape reader driveshaft as described inconnection with Figs. 4 and 9 include the timingcircuit breaker contacts S10 shown in Fig. 10A adjacent the sensingcontacts P-l P-6. A conductor 1006 conmeets the source of positivevoltage with such contacts so that when S10 is closed by its operatingcam 222 during the portion of the cycle of the tape readingmechanismdrive shaft indicated in the timing chart of Fig. 13, an energizationpath is completed through the lock switch LS1 forming part of the readermechanism and to any combination of the sensing contacts P-1 P-6 whichare closed by the coded perforations on the tape; It will be noted fromFig. 13 that the period allowed for energization of the reader pinsP-lP-6 occurs between and 5. Therefore, since the contacts 8-10 are closedin the period between 203 and 283, it completes its cycle of operationwithin the time period defined by the reader pins. Accordingly, therewill be established a definite pattern of energized relay coils R-l' R20in the translator portion of the control mechanism now to be described.7

As described, the tape reader drive shaft 200 carries a plurality oftiming cams 220, 221, 222, and 223 (Figs. 4 and 9) which are eachcooperatively arranged to operate a like number of timing circuitbreaker contacts 8-8, 8-9, S-10 and S11. The respective cams are shownadjacent each timing circuit breaker in the circuit diagram of Figs. 10Aand 10B. The first timing circuit breaker contacts 5-8 are identified asthe clutch circuit breaker since, as indicated in Fig. 10B, it formspart of the energization circuit for the reader clutch coil R 8comprising a part of the Flexowriter tape reading mecha nism andfunctions to actuate the program tape reading or sensing pins P-1 P-6.

The second circuit breaker contacts S-9 (Fig. 10A) determineenergization of the lead relay R22.

- The third timing circuit breaker contacts S-10 (Fig. 10A) I are in theenergization circuit of the tape reader mechanism and provide a timedenergization path for the sensing pins P-1 P6 as well as the relays ofthe translator mechanism to be described. As previously set forth, thecircuit breaker contacts S-10 go through an operative cycle within thetime period during which the tape sensing pins P-l P-6 may be actuated.

The fourth timing circuit breakercontacts S11(Fig. 10B) are in theenergization circuit for delete relays R-26, R-27 which, as will bedescribed in connection with the description of the translator, functionto prevent punch In the event no perfora- 17 card perforating when anerror exists on the programing tape.

The construction of the translator can now be described following whichthe various components of the entire electrical control mechanism can bedetailed as an integral unit.

The translator 107 which is generally indicated in Fig. 1 as lyingwithin the cabinet, comprises a relay memory device and a correspondingmatrix which translates signals sensed by the Flexowriter tape readingcontacts, P-l P-6 as each six-row column of coded information on theprogram tape is sensed, into a particular control effect determining themanner of energization of the control circuit shown in Figs. A and 10Baccording to a particular programmed operation determined by the codedinstruction represented by the referred to line of perforations. Thevarious typical operational patterns contemplated are embodied as codedinstructions on the program tape. As will be described in connectionwith Fig. 12, each perforated row on the tape provides codedinstructions which will result in any one of the following specificoperations:

Table of control functions:

1. Card perforating 2. Word spacing 3. Line spacing 4. Deletion(ignoring of instruction when error is indicated) 5. Stop code 6.Ejection of completed card The translator circuit comprises (1) a relay(R-l R20) system as shown in Fig. 10A which will function to memorizethe instructions represented by a single row of coded perforations onthe programming tape, and (2) a decoding matrix represented by thecircuit-pattern-forming contacts shown in the upper portion of Fig. 10Bwhich will select a particular control circuit pattern capable ofperforming any one of the above-itemized operations. The relayinstruction storing system includes a plurality of relay coils R-l R-7,R-ll and 11-14 R-ZO arranged as shown in the lower portion of Fig. 10Ain columnated alignment with the respective sensing contacts P-l P6 ofthe tape reader mechanism. A holding circuit contact CH4 CH-S isprovided for each bank of relays to keep the selected relays energizeduntil dropped out. The

translator in this manner memorizes the instruction sensed from a row ofperforations on the tape since actuation of one or more of the sensingpins P-Zi P-6 will result in continuing energization of a correspondingnumber of the translator relays R-l etc. until released.

The various operative contacts of the matrix associated with theinstruction storing relays are indicated in the upper portion of Fig.1013 hearing like designation numerals but prefaced with the letter C todenote a contact member. The translator matrix contacts are shownarranged in accordance with six discrete channels corresponding to thesix sensing pins P1 P-6 and to the columns indicated on the programmingtape in Fig. 12. In this manner, the relays R1, etc., of the translatormemory are energized in groups or patterns according to which of thesensing pins P-1 P-6 have been Control function: Channel on program tapeWord space 3 Alphabet character S land 3. Carriage return 3, 5, and 6.Code delete 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.

in the standard Flexowriter reading head the row of six sensing pins P-lP-6 which are diagrammatically illustrated in Fig. 19A are arrangedtransversely with respect to the direction of motion of the program tapeand are adapted to be periodically projected against the surface of thetape in synchronism with the movement of the tape. The tape is providedwith a row of equidistant sprocket holes as shown in Fig. 12 and isdriven by a sprocket connected to the tape reader drive shaft to provideincremental feeding of the tape in exact timed relation with theprojection of the sensing fingers. In this manner, as each informationrow on the tape is read, one or more of the sensing pins P-l P-6 will becaused to make contact with the common contact of the reader mechanismindicated in Fig. 10A.

As is apparent from Fig. 10A, a particular pattern of translator memoryrelays R-l, etc., will be energized depending upcn the number of thesensing pins actuated and consequent thereto, the correspondingtranslator matrix contacts shown in the upper portion of Fig. 103 willbe closed.

The referred to matrix contacts when closed do not immediately completean operative circuit to perform the particular control functiondesignated by the instruction on the program tape. The necessaryenergization circuit is completed only at a designated time occurringduring a cycle of the tape reader drive shaft as determined by theclosing of the previously described timing circuitbreaker contacts S8S11. Specifically, when circuit breaker contacts S9 are closed duringthe 255345 period indicated in Fig. 13, the lead relay R-22 (Fig. 10A)is energized and is held energized by hold contacts C22 The resultingclosure of lead relay contacts C-22 shown in Fig. 10B completes thedescribed energization path from the common connection 1908 of the pinselection solenoids 12-30 R40 It will be noted from Fig. 10B that eachof the character pin selecting solenoids 12-30 etc., is connected incircuit between designated leads from the translator contacts matrix C1etc., to the common terminal 1008 included in a ground return circuitwith the lead relay contacts 0-22 normally closed delete-relay contactsC-26 and normally closed drop-out circuit breaker contacts 5-12 which aspreviously described, are actuated by the cam 637 on the card carriageindexing shaft 63511 as shown in Fig. 3.

Depending upon the pattern of translator solenoids R1 etc. which areenergized as a result of a code reading operation, correspondingselected translator contacts C1 etc., of the matrix will close to definea particular energization path for the various function control elementsindicated in the circuit diagram, by which one of the six previouslyenumerated control functions of the machine can be obtained. In brief,the program tape instructs the translator to obtain any one of the 6distinct operations enumerated in connection with the description of thetranslator, the translator memorizes and decodes each such instructionin the form of the energiza tion of a distinct pattern of the referredto translator solenoids and matrix contacts and then energizes thenecessary control elements to perform the required control function. Theoperation of the translator and the associated control circuits can bestbe described by following through each of the 6 referred to controlfunctions, name- 1y, (1) card perforating, (2) word spacing, (3) linespac-

